Link-stacking device.



H. E. HAYwA-RD. UNK STACKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FlLED APR. 24 1918.

,2,9 vPatented Feb. 19 8.V

` l SHEETS -SHEE gnam H. E. HAYWARD.

LINK STACKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 24. 1916.

Lg. Peteeeee Feb.19,1918.,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. E. HAYWARD. LINK sTAcKING nsvmf.

APPLICATIUN HLED APH. 24, |916.

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HJE, HAYWARD.

LINK STACKING'DEVICE.

AFPLxcMlon FILED APR. 24. me.

L25698. Patented Feb. 19,1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET '4.

WTIVESSES: VENTUR sare arnr orten HENRY E. I-IAYWARD, OF INDIANAPOLIS,INDIANA., ASSIGNQR TO LINK-BELT COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ACORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LINK-STACKING DEVICE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led April 24, 1916. Serial'No. 93,321.

To all whom it 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY E. HAYwARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented a new and useful Link-Stacking Device, of which thefollowing is a specification.

In the manufacture oi silent chains, it is necessary that the links beoperated on individually a number of times, in order to produce thelinished chain. Heretofore, it has been necessary in practice toV placethe individual links in position by hand, for each operation, involvinggreat labor and expense, as the links are manufactured and' handled bythe million.

The present invention is one of a series, having the ultimate object ofautomatically bringing the links into positionto be operated on; and hasfor its particular object the transferring of a series of links from anend-to-end arrangement with their points all in the same direction to aside-by-side arrangement` so that the points and the pitch holes orpivot pin holes in all the links register, and placing the links in thislatter position on a conveyer which will carry them in such position andarrangement to the desired place.

The mechanism for bringing the links from a haphazard mass to anend-toend arrangement with the points all point-ing in the'samedirection forms, per se, the subject-matter of my co-pendingapplication, Ser. No. 93,320, of even tiling date herewith; and theconveyer or slide rail on to which the links are placed by my presentinvention forms, per se, the subject-matter of a copending applicationoic Frank J. Oakes, Ser. No. 93,326, of even filing date herewith. Mypresent invention relates to the intermediate mechanism, and to thecombination 'thereof with tie initial positioning mocht: nism and theconveyor or slide rail. The links may be fed in the initial end-to-endarrangement referred to to certain machines tor treating the links,usually individually; or may and usually are fed in such arrangement toa device such as that forming part of the present application or thatforming the subject-matter of the (3o-pending application of Owen H.Spencer Ser. No. 93,322, 'also of even iiling date herewith, by whichthis initial link arrangement, with the'links irranged all in the sameposition end to end, is transformed to a second arrangement or stack orlinks, with the links arranged side by side with their pointsregistering. ll`his second arrangement or stack is found to be a mostconvenient and suitable one tor transporting the links from one place toanother, as on the slide ail shown in the Oakes application abovereferred to, and for handling the links in other machines which mayoperate on them, either individually, or in the assembling orf thecomplete chain, as for instance those shown in the cfu-pendingapplications of Frank J. Oakes and Owen H. Spencer, Ser. Nos. 93,324 and93.325, also of even filing date herewith. rlhe various inventionscovered by these several applications may be used together in thedifferent arrange ments in the manufacture of silent chains. It has beeniound that the initial arrangement of the links in an end-to-endrelationship with the links all in the same position and their pointsall toward the same side is probably the most'convenient and cihcientlstarting point for getting the links into the second arrangement, orstack, with the links side by side with their points and crotchcs allregistering; and that this second arrangement or stack is probably themost convenient and efficient arrangement Y Jfor the handling of thelinks throughout the subsequent operations on them and in the assemblingoi' the chain.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention. Figure l is a generalperspective view of an apparatus embodying my invention, showing thecombination, with my positioning means arranged at an intermediate pointbetween the initial positioning device set forth in'my aforesaidco-pending application and the conveyer or slide rail set forth in theaforesaidl co-pending Oakes application; Fig. 2 is a side elevation inpartial section of mv positioning device, showing the vertically movablelink carriage raised; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2,showing such vertically movable link carriage lowered; Fig. 4 is asectional view showing a detail of the mechanism for raising andlowering the link carriage, and is a section on the line 4 -4 of Fig. 5;Fig. 5 is a front elevation of my positioning device, with some partsbroken away or in sec tion, and the vertically movable link carriageraised; Fig. 6 isa section on the line 64-6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 5, lwith less broken away and with the verticallymovable link carriage lowered; and'Fig. 8 1s a vperspective view of thevertically movable link carriage.

nally of the base 10 and set at right angles thereto so as to formtroughs, each group comprising two outer strips 11 and an intermediatestrip 12 which forms with the two outer strips troughs of sufficientwidth to receive a silent chain link 13 edgewise', the strips 12terminating short of the upper end of the base 10, and the strips 11being suiiiciently wide apart at such upper end so as to receive betweenthem a Vlink lyingflatwise on the bottom ofthe trough with its pointstoward one side or the other of the trough, but so narrow that it isnecessary that the points be toward one side or the other. These widertroughs at the upper end of the base 10 abut against one another, so asto form single ridges between them,

and the upper ends of these troughs are within a flaring-sided hopper 14which directs into the upper ends of the troughs links thrown into thehopper in a haphazard mass. As the links slide down the troughs, theyare tilted to an upright position with the points upward on one si'de orthe other of the intermediate strips 12Yby plow points which areprovidedv at the upper end of suchY intermediate strips` so that in thelower part of the troughs Vformed by the strips 11 and 12 the links inall the troughs have their points upward, and the links in each troughare arranged end-to-end without overlapping. I Y

The conveyer or slide rail, set forth in detail in the aforesaidco-pending Oakes application. Vis of a general inverted T-shaped crosssection having an upright 2O and a b ase 21 projecting on either side ofthe uprlght, the upright 20 being of such height .that when a link 13 isplaced astride it with its points downward the points are very close tothe base 21 but cannot bothl touch such base at the same time. The linkswill slide along thisconveyer or slide rail in an upright Veo position,and only in rare instances fall oii; i

of the present invention. rlhisV comprises a head 30 in which are anumber of arc-shaped grooves orV chutes 31. lThese grooves orV chutes 31are of different radius; at their yupper ends they register with and aretangent to thel lower ends of the respective troughs formed by thestrips 11 and 12 at their lower' ends they come substantially tangent tothe horizontal, and discharge just above the upper edge of the upright20 of the slide rail, which upright is Ycontinued obliquely across thefront face of the headV 80. For convenience in manufacture, the

head 30 is built up of a number of alternate Y wide plates 32 and narrowplates 33, vheld together by one or more bolts, the wideplates 32 havingthe grooves 31 machined in their lateral faces so thatv with the flatnarrow plates 33 the grooves or chutes are com- Y only extends to the.head 80 land not across its front face, thus stopping short of the endof the upright 20; and at its upper end Y the base 21 is carried by abent finger 22 pr0- jecting from the lower face of the head 30.

Slidably mounted on the front face of the head 30 is a verticallysliding plate 34,q provided witha vertical guide slot 85 whichcosperates with a screw 36 fixed in such front '.ace. spaced therefromby spacing blocks 38; the plate (37 at one end-the left in Fig. 5 beingbent so as to bear against that end of the head 30 opposite the one fromwhich the slide rail -20-21 projects and thus to serve as a guide. Fixedto the lower edge of the plate 37 is a vertically movable link carriage39, which is shown in detail in Fig. `8. This link carriage 1s providedwith a longitudinal slot 40 opening upward, and having a sliding lit onthe upright 20 of the slide rail beyond the end of the base 21.` Thelink carriage 39, the plate 37, and the lower the link carriage 39 isprovided with a horizontal slot 41, which receives an eccentric pin 42carried by a disk 43' countersunk in the front face of the head 80 andfixed on the end of an operating shaft 44; so that by the rotation ofthe shaft 44 the link carriage 39, the plate 37, and the plate 34 arealternately raised a-nd lowered along the front face of the head 30.Vhen the link .carriage 39 is raised, the oblique upper edges of its twoarms 45 and 46 are at least as high A plate 37 is fixed to the plate 34but as theiupper edgel of the upright 2O and substantially in line withthe outer or lower surface of the lower ends of the arc-shaped grooves3l, as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5;

and when the link carriage 39 is lowered, the

i upper edges of its two 'arms 45 and 46 are Y substantially inalinement with the upper surfaces of the two sides of the base 21 of theslide rail, as shown in Figs. 3 and 7. T he upper edge of the arm 45 issmooth,1 but is slightly concave so that at the slot 40 it is higherthan the arm 46, and at the front face of the head 30 it comes flushwith the outer or lower surface of the grooves 31 when the link carriage39 is raised; so that a point of a link discharged from a groove orchute 31 on to the link carriage will not fall into the slot 40 but willbe carried over such slot on to the upper edge of the arm 46. The upperedge of the arm 46, however, is transversely serrated, as clear fromFig. 8, so as to prevent premature sliding of the link points along it.The plates 33 have projecting 'tongues 47 at the lower ends of thegroove31, which tongues extend nearly across the link carriage 39, as clearfrom Figs. 2, 3, and 6; and short tongues 48 are set in the sides of thegrooves 31 and similarly project part way across the link carriage 39,as clear from Figs. 4 and 6. r1`hese tongues 47 and 48 hold the linksupright on the link carriage 39 when the latter is raised. as clear fromFig. 2; but the links pass out of engagement with these tongues when thelink carriage is lowered, as clear from Fig. 3. The lower edge of theplate 34 is provided with slots 49 which register with the tongues 47and 48, so asto allow the vertical movement of such plate 34 past suchtongues., When the link carriage 39 and plate 34 are raised, the loweredge of the plate 34 is substantially flush with the inner or ,uppersurface of the lower ends of the grooves 31, so as to uncover the lowerends of such grooves, as clear from Figs. 2 and 5; but when the linkcarriage 39 and plate 34 are lowered, the plate 34 extends down past'the lower ends of the groove 31 and closes such lower ends to retainthe links in the grooves, as clear from Figs. 3 and 7.

In operation, links are ydropped haphazard into the hopper 14, fallinginto the broad ends of the troughs formed by the strips v11, are sliddown such troughs. by gravity if the troughs are inclined, until theystrike the plow points at the upper ends of the strips 12, are tilted bysuch plow points to bring the link points upward, and slide along thetroughs formed by the strips 11 and 12 to the ends of such troughs, thelinks being positioned edgewise in these troughs with their pointsupward and the troughs being so narrow that the links can only be inthis position and cannot overlap. The feeding of links into the hopper14 is sufliciently rapid so as to maintain at all times ascries of linksarranged end-to-end with their points upward in each of the troughsformed by the strips 11 and 12.

The links from the troughs formed by the strips 11 and 12 slide into thearc-shaped grooves or chutes 31, which register with such troughs, andas they slide along such arc-shaped grooves they are inverted inposition seas to bring their points downward, as clear from Figs. 2 and3. Assume that the link carriage 39 and the plate 34 are in their lowerpositions, as shown in Fig. 3. The links pile up, end to end, in thegrooves or chutes 31, which like the troughs 11-12 are of the propersize to receive the links edgewise and prevent them from overlapping.They are retained in the grooves or chutes 31 by the plate 34. Byrotating the shaft 44, the eccentric pin 41 thereon raises the linkcarriage 39 and plate 34 from the lower position shown in Fig. 3 to theupper position shown in Fig.l 2, so that the plate 34 uncovers the lowerends of the slots 31. 1mmedi ately on such uncovering, a link is forcedout of the lower end of each groove or chute 31, by the weight of thelinks behind it, on,to the link carriage 39, the concave upper edge ofthe arm 45 throwing the forward point of such link across the slot 40 onto the serrated upper edge of the arm 46, the serrations of which,coperating with the tongues 47 and 48, hold the links upright. The linksin this position are shown in Figs. 2 and 5. T he crotches of the linkthus forced out are now directly over the upright 2O of the slide rail.The plate 37 prevents the links which are forced out of the grooves orchutes 31 from being forced too far, and permits the forcing out of huta single link from each such groove. As the rotation of the shaft 44continues, the eccentric pin 41 now carries the link carriage 39 andplate 34 downward, from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the positionshown in Fig. 3. T he plate 34 thus descends to cut off further egressof links from the grooves 31, and the links which were forced out whenthe link carriage was raised are dropped on to and astride of theupright 2O of the slide rail. The dropping of the link carriage 39 andthe links thereon clears such links from the Y tongues 47 and 48, andthe dropping is sutlicient so that the link points are also cleared fromthe upper faces of the arms 45 and 46 of the link carriage. lnconsequence, the links now slide along the upright 20 by reason of theslantthereof, and pass from over the link carriage 39 to the completeslide rail including the upright 20 and the base 21. lThe links arecarried along` this slide rail to any desired place, or are allowed topile up on such slide rail as desired.

rlhe foregoing operation is repeated as the shaft 44 continues to rotateto raise and lower the link carriage 39, links being forced out from thegrooves or chutes 31 on to the link carriage when the latter reaches itsuppermost position and being allowed to slide means and placing themastride said slide rail with their crotches in alinement.

2. Iii-combination, means for bringing a liaphazai'd mass of ci'otchedchain links into a definite plane in an eiid-to-end arrangement withtheir crotches all to `one side, a slide rail, and means reciprocatingtransverselyof said slide rail and adapted alternately to receive linksfrom said first meansV and to place said links astride said slide railwith their crotches in alinemeiit. y

' 3. In combination, means for delivering silent chain links iii ancnd-to-end arrangement with their points all upward, a slide rail, andmeans for receiving links from said first means and inverting said linksand depositing them in a side-by-side arrangement on said slide railwith their points downward.

t. In combination, means for delivering silent chain links in anend-to-'end arrangement with theirpoiiits all upward, a slide rail, andmeans reciprocating transversely ot said slide rail and adaptedalternately to receive links from said first means and to place saidlinks astride said slide iail with their points downward. i

5. In combination, 'means `t'or delivering crotched chain links in anend-to-end arrangement with their crotches all to one side, a coiiveyeradapted to support the links in a side-by -side arrangement with theircrotches iii alinement, and means for receiving the links from saidfirst means in said eiid-to-end arrangement and placing them on saidconveyor' in said side-by-side arrangement. y

V6. In combination, means for delivering crotched chain links in anend-to-end arrangement with their crotches all to onel side, a conveyeradapted to support the links in a side-byside arrangement Vwith theircrotches in alinement, and means reciprocating transversely ot saidconveyer and adapt- -ed alternately to receive links from said firstmeans and to place said links on said conveyer insaid side-by-sidearrangement.

7. In combination, a slide rail adapted to reci-ive crotched chain linksastrido it, a vertically moving link carriage having two parts on thetwo sides ot said slide rail respectively and moving between a positionwhere the upper ends of said parts are as high as the top of the sliderail and a position where such upper ends are so low that the crotch ofa link resting thereon touches the slide rail, a link chute discharginglinks on to said link carriage transversely to said slide rail andwitlitheir crotches down-ward, and means for permitting discharge'otsaid links from said chute onto said carriage when the latter iselevated and for preventing such discharge at other times. Y

8. In combination, a slide rail adapted to receive crotclied chain linksastride it, a ve'rtically moving link carriage having two parts on thetwo sides of said slide railV respectively and moving between a positionwhere the upper ends of said parts are `as high as the top of the sliderail andy a position where such upper ends are so low that the crotch.of a link resting thereon touches the slide rail, a link chutedischarging links on to said link carriage transversely to said sliderail and with their crotches downward, means for permitting discharge otsaid links from said chute on to said carf riage when the latter iselevated kand for preventing such discharge at other times, and meanspreventing more than one link at a timerfroin being discharged trom saidchute. Y

9. In combination, a slide rail adapted to receive crotched chain linksasti-ide it, a. vertically moving link cariiage having vtwo parts on thetwo sides of said slide rail respectively and moving between a positionwhere the upper ends ot said parts are as high as the top of the sliderail and a position where such upper ends are so low that the crotch ofa link resting thereon touches thex slide rail, a link chute discharginglinks on tosaid link carriage transversely to said slide rail and withtheir crotclies downward, and means for permitting discharge oit' saidlinks from said chute on to said carriage when the latter is elevatedand for preventing such discharge at other times, said chute being ofsuch dimensions that it receives links end-to-endv but prevents themfrom overlapping.

l0. In combination, a slide rail adapted to i points downward, means forpermitting discharge ot' said links from said'chute on to said carriagewhen the latter is elevated and l:t'or preventing such discharge atother times, said chuteV being of such dimensions 'that it receiveslinks end-to-end but prevents them from overlapping and being curvedsothat at its lower end it. discharges links on to said carriage withtheir points downward and at its upper end it receives links .with theirpoints upward, and means for feeding links into the upper end of saidchute with the link points upward.

11. In combination, a slide rail adapted to receive silent chain linksastride it, a vertically moving link carriage having two parts on thetwo sides of said slide rail. respectively and moving bet veen aposition where the upper ends ot' said parts are as high as the top ofthe slide rail and a position where such upper ends are so low that thecrotch of a link having its two poi-nts resting there* on touches theslide rail, a link chiite discharging links on to said link carriagetransversely to said slide rail and with their points downward, andmeans tor permitting` dic'- charge of said links from said chuteon tosaid carriage when the latter is elevated and for preventing suchdischarge at other times, said chute being curved so that at its lowerend it discharges links on to said carriage with their points downwardand at its upper end it receives links with their points upward. v

12. In combination, a slide rail adapted to receive silent chain linksastride it, a vertically moving link carriage having two parts on thetwo sides of said slide rail respectively and moving between a po-sitionwhere the upper ends of said parte are as high as the top of the sliderail and a position where such lupper ends are so low that the crotch ofa link having its two points resting thereon touches the slide rail,arlink chute discharging links on to said link carriage transversely tosaid slide rail and with their points downward, means for permittingdischarge of said links from said chute on to y said carriage when thelatter is elevated and for preventing such discharge at other times,said chute being curved so that at its lower end it discharges links onto said carriage with their points downward and at its upper end itreceives linksv with their points upward, and means for feeding into theupper end of said chute links in an end-tofend arrangement with theirpoints upward.

13. In combination, a slide rail adapted to receive crotched chain linksastride it, a vertically moving link carriage having two parts on thetwo'sides of the slide rail respectively and moving between a positionwhere the upper ends of saidy parts are as lhigh as the top of the sliderail and a-pos1- tion where such upper ends are so low that the crotchof a link resting thereon touches the slide rail, said slide rail andthe. upper ends kof said link carriage parts being in-` clinedcorrespondingly longitudinally of the slide rail, a plurality of linkchutes discharging links on to said link carriage transv versely tosaidslide rail at different points therealong with the crotehes of thelinks Vupper ends of said parts are as high as the downward, thedischarge ends of said link chutes being arranged at different heightscorresponding to the slant of said link carriage, and means forpermitting discharge of said links from said chutes on to said carriagewhen the latter is elevated and for prevent# ing it at other times.

14. ln combination a slide rail adapted to receive crotched chain linksastride it, a verl tically moving link carriage having `two parts on thetwo sides of .the slide rail respectively and moving between a positionwhere the upper ends of said parts are as high as the top of the sliderail and a position where such upper ends are so low that the crotch ofa link resting thereon touches the slide rail, a plurality of linkchutes discharging links on to said link carriage transversely 'to saidslide rail at different points therealong with the crotches of the linksdownward, and means for permitting discharge of said links from saidchutes on to said carriage when the latter is elevated and torpreventing it at other times.

15. In combination, a slide rail adapted to receive silent chain linksastride it, a vertically moving link carriage having two parts on thetwo sides of the slide rail respectively and moving between a positionwhere the top of the slide rail and a position where such upper endsareso low' tiat the crotch of a link having its two points restingthereon touches the slide rail, said slide rail and the upper ends ofsaid link carriage parts being inclined correspondingly longitudinallyof the slide rail, a plurality ot' link chutes discharging links Yon tosaid link carriage tinnsversely` to said slide rail Vat dit- .t'erentpoints therealong with the points ot 105 the links downward, thedischarge ends of" said link chutes being arranged at dilie'rent heightscorresponding to the slant ot said link carriage, and means forpermitting discharge ot said links from saidy chutes on to 110 saidcarriage when the latter is elevated and for preventing it at othertimes, said chutes being curved so that at their lower ends theydischarge links on to said carriage with the link points downward and attheir upper ends they receive links with the link points upward. t

. 16. ln combination, a slide rail adapted to receive silent chain linksastride it,'a vertically moving link carriage having two parts on thetwo sides of the slide rail respectively and moving between ,a positionwhere the upper ends ot said parts are as high as the top of the sliderail and a position where such upper ends are so low that the crotch ofa link having its two pointsA resting thereon touches the slide rail, aplurality of link chutes discharging links on to said link carriagetransversely tosaid slide rail at dil.3v ferent points therealong withthe points of vi3() the links downward, and means for permittingdischarge of said links from said chutes on to said carriage'when thelatter is elevated and for preventing it at other times, said chutesbeing curved so that at their lower ends they discharge links on to saidcarriage with the link points downward and at their upper ends theyreceive links Vwith the link points upward.

Y 17. ln combination, a slide vrail adapted lto receive silent chainlinks astride it, a vertically moving link carriage having two parts onthe two sides of the slide rail respectively and moving between aposition where the upper ends of said Vparts are as hi'gh as the top ofthe slide rail and a position where such upper ends are so low that thecrotch' of ailink having` its two points resting thereon touches theslide rail, said slide rail and the upper ends of said link carriageparts being inclined correspondingly longitudinally of the slidevrail` aplurality of link chutes discharging links on to said link carriagetransversely to said slide rail at different points therealong with thepoints of the links downward,rthe discharge ends of said link chutesbeing arrangedV at different heights corresponding to the slant of saidlink carriage, means for permitting discharge of said links from saidchutes on to said carriage when the latter is elevated and forpreventing it at other times, said chutes being curved so that at theirlower ends they discharge links on to said carriage with the link pointsdownward andV at their upper ends they receive links with the linkpoints upward, and means for Jfeeding links into the upper end of eachof said chutes with Vthe linksfin an end-to-endl arrangement with theirpoints upward. Y

18. ln combination, a slide rail adapted to Y receive silent chainsastride it, a vvertically lmi moving link carriage having two parts .onthe two sides of the slide rail respectively and moving between aposition where the upper ends of said parts areas high as the top of theslide rail and a position'where such upper ends are s0 low that thecrotch of alink having its two points resting thereon touches the sliderail, a plurality of link lchutes discharging links on to said linkcarriage transversely to said slide rail at different points therealongwith the points of the links downward, means `for permitting dischargeof said links from said chutes on to said carriage when the lattervisvelevated and for preventing it at other times, said chutes being curvedso .that at their .lower ends they discharge links on to said carriagewith the link points downward and at their upper ends they receive linkswith the link points upward, and means for feeding links into theupperend of each of said chutes with the links in an end-to-endarrangement with their points' upward.

and the upper ends of said link carriagev parts being inclinedcorrespondingly longitudinally of the slide rail, a plurality of linkchutes discharging links on to said link carriage transversely'to saidslide rail at dif- 'ferent points therealong with the points of thelinks downward, the discharge ends of said link chutes being arranged atdifferent` `heights corresponding to the slant of said link carriage,means for permitting discharge of said links from said chutes -on tosaid carriage when the latter is elevated and for preventing it at othertimes,each of said link chutes being of such dimensions that it receiveslinks end-'to-end but prevents them from overlapping and being curved sothat at its lower end it discharges'links onto said carriage with theirpoints downward and at its upper end it receives'links with their pointsupward, and means'for feeding links into the upper ends of said chuteswith the link points upward,` the curvature of said chutes beingdiferent, so that their intake ends are in a substantially horizontalline and their discharge ends are inY an 20. In combination, a sliderail adapted to receive silent chain links astride it, a verti.

cally moving link carriage having two parts on the two'sides ofthe sliderail respectively and moving between a position where the upper ends-oi'said parts are as high as the top oi the slide `rail and a positionwhere such upper ends are spo-low that the crotch heights correspondingto the slant of said link carriage. and means for permitting dischargeofvsaid links from said chute on to said carriage when the latter iselevated and for preventing it at other times, said chutes being curvedso that at their lower ends they discharge links on to said carriagewith the link points'downward-and at their upper ends they receivelinks'witli the link points upward, the curvature of said chutes being Yoblique line corresponding to the slant ofY i said slide rail.

passasse different, so that their intake ends are in a substantiallyhorizontal line and their discharge ends are in an oblique linecorresponding to the slant of said slide rail.

2l. In combination, means for delivering crotched links in an end-to-endarrangement with their crotches all to one side, a slide rail, and meansfor receiving the links in the end-to-end arrangement from said firstmeans and placing them astride said slide rail with their crotches inalinement.

22. In combination, means for delivering crotched links in an end-to-endarrangement with their crotches all to one side, a slide rail, and meansreciprocating transversely to said slide rail and adapted alternately toreceive. links from said first means and to place said links astridesaid slide rail with their crotches in alinement.

23. In a device for handling crotched kmembers, a support for saidmembers in end-to-end relationship, and a second support for thereception of said members in side-by-side relationship, said firstsupport discharging links singly onto said seco-nd support.

In a device for rhandling' crotched members, a support for said membersin end-to-end relationship, and a second support for the reception ofsaid members in side-by-side relationship, said two supports beingarranged in transverse planes and said first support discharging linkssingly onto said second support.

25. In a device for handling crotched members, a support for saidmembers in end-to-end relationship, a second support for the receptionof said members in sideby-side relationship, and discharge mechanismreceiving links from said first support and depositing them on saidsecond support.

26. In a device for handling crotched members, a support for saidmembers in end-to-end relationship, and a second support for thereception of said members in side-by-side relationship, said secondsupport being arranged transversely to the line of links on said firstsupport, and said first support being cut away so as t0 discharge links0n to said second support laterally of the line of links on the firstsupport.

27. In a device for handling crotched members, a support for saidmembers in end-to-end relationship, a second support for the receptionof said members in sideby-side relationship, said second support beingarranged transversely to the line of links on said first support, anddischarge mechanism receiving links from said first support anddischarging them on to said second support laterally of the line oflinks on the first support.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis,Indiana, this 21st day of April, A. D., one thousand nine hundred andsixteen.

HENRY E. HAYWARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

